Such is the whirlwind season Ousmane Dembele is currently riding through, it’s almost hard to believe that he was once just a wide-eyed youngster with posters on his wall and heroes in his head. Once cast aside as a Barcelona flop, the Frenchman has rebranded himself this campaign - like a phoenix in boots - directly contributing to 46 goals in 46 games across all competitions.
And now, with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final after toppling Arsenal in the final four, Dembele finds himself in the driver’s seat for football’s highest individual honour, the Ballon d'Or, come October. To say he’s living his boyhood dream would be no exaggeration, and he’s knocking on the door of greatness.
But in a recent reveal of his three all-time favourite footballers, Dembele reminded us that even those chasing the stars once looked up at them. His journey from the concrete pitches of Vernon to the bright lights of Paris was powered not just by talent, but by the echoes of distant legends. And interestingly, two of his three idols hail from England.
David Beckham and Steven Gerrard were mentioned alongside Lionel Messi
In a short video for the French national team’s official Instagram, the 28-year-old beamed with nostalgia as he named both Steven Gerrard and David Beckham among his three favourite players of all time. Of course, like pretty much everyone else who has any sort of love for the beautiful game, he also hailed former teammate, Lionel Messi. Dembele said, as per Yahoo Sports:
“Number one is Lionel Messi. I’m a fan of Barcelona, so Lionel Messi is a big legend. In number two, David Beckham, this is the first football jersey that I got. In number three, Steven Gerrard. I was a fan of Liverpool.”
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Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring against Arsenal in the Champions League
It’s intriguing to learn that Dembele was once an admirer of Gerrard and his beloved Liverpool, especially considering he famously turned the Reds down in 2016 in favour of Borussia Dortmund. Jurgen Klopp had reportedly made a late attempt to hijack the move, but the Frenchman had already set his sights on Germany after lighting up the pitch for his boyhood club Rennes.
A year later, he would go on to become one of the most expensive signings in football history - a £100 million leap into the great expectations at Barcelona. But rather than becoming the crown jewel of the Camp Nou, Dembele struggled to find his sparkle and flopped. It wasn’t until his 2023 switch to PSG that he truly began to remind the world what he was capable of, almost as if he was a storm finally breaking through after years of swirling clouds.
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Looking back, choosing Liverpool might have written a very different story. Under Klopp’s watch, many raw talents were polished into diamonds. Had Dembele walked that path, he might have enjoyed a longer prime, guided by the steady hand of the German tactician.
Instead, the Reds turned to Sadio Mane, and what a harvest both parties reaped. The Senegalese forward became the heartbeat of Klopp’s golden era and the first meaningful signing made by 'the Normal one', netting 120 goals and laying on 46 assists in 269 appearances to lift the Premier League and Champions League, and become one of the club's all-time greats.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt (correct as of 17/05/2025)